Computer Activities for the Past Week

I wanted to document my activites for the past week. On December 13, I got all the new shareware unlocked. This is a summary of the six new shareware programs and my plans for them:

Book Collector I use this software to input multiple books. Also, when I update using the ISBN, the software will download any available cover images. This is very convenient and quite a time saver. I do an online search of Amazon.com first. Then, I go to the Library of Congress to download whatever data I find there. For every 100 ISBNs that enter, there are usually 3 to 4 that I have to input manually. This is SO much better than the alternative. When this is done, I prepare an export file and close the program and go to the Book Library.

Book Library (BL) I import the tab delimited file from Book Collector (BC) and start to work on the individual books. BC is not good at obtaining all the reviews and descriptions. Also, BC does not access Barnes & Noble which has the best input. So, now, I do an individual online query for each book. I am looking for data that BC missed. There is usually quite a bit. The reason I follow this convoluted path is because of the Front Covers. BC downloads virtually all the covers automatically. With BL, I have to download and name each cover separately. This is very time consuming. So far, I am very pleased with the process. I maintain two databases: My Personal Books and Library Books.

I track all the info that is available online (easy since I do not have to input it), keep track of whether I have read the book or not, my personal rating, my notes and comments. I am downloading any available chapter titles to save me from having to type this later after I read the book and create my book review.

I am doing this partially because I was losing track of what books I have read, have on hand to read, etc. When I am browsing the auction sites, it is hard to figure out if I already had or read a particular book. Also, sometimes, auction sites sell an older edition and I mistakenly think it is current. I thought that in a year or so, this effort will reap a lot of personal benefit. I plan to export the data to a spreadsheet so I can carry around on my iPaq. This will be auite useful at the library, regular bookstores and used bookstores. I do not plan to buy very many books bacause I have more than 400 to read (not counting what I borrow from the library).

Music Collector This software creates a database of all tracks on my CDs. All I have to do is pop the CD in the computer and the program will read the tracks. I can do multiple CDs and then go on the internet to download all the available information on the song, artist, etc. I have about 375 music CDs which I would like entered into a database. In addition, B left another 200 CDs here. Those maybe too much trouble to access because they are in a 100 CD changer. Once I have all the songs listed, I am going to want to export the info into a spreadsheet. I could have used this software to track the MP3 files but I did not like how it did the job.

Music Library I got this software to track the MP3 files that I have. I rarely listen to the MP3 files, but plan to make them more accessible. A number have to be re-recorded. When I first started to make MP3 files, I made a lot of errors. Now, I am using better software and feel that I should redo some of them. At this time, though, I do not see where I will get the time to listen to the files to make those decisions.

Other Music Databases Needed I have the Karaoke songs listed on a spreadsheet. There are 4,500 songs there. In addition, I probably have another 200 to 300 Karaoke songs on various Karaoke disks not listed in the system. I need to get a handle on them. I would like round out the collection by looking for specific songs.

I want a database of all the sheet music I have (loose and bound). I need to track the key the song written in and for whom the arrangement was written. I have run into a lot of trouble when selecting songs to sing. I choose a song and look for the sheet music. When Fred plays it, I find I cannot sing it because the arrangement is for a different voice or version. For instance, I can sing This is the Moment on Karaoke. I have two versions and can sing either one. So, I went to the library and made copies of the song from the Jeckyl & Hyde book. What a disaster. The same thing happened with 4 or 5 other songs. I had the copies made but could not sing the arrangement. I could learn it, but I do not have the karaoke song to practice with. I have the song on a CD somewhere, but do not know where. So, until I locate the broadway version, I have nothing to listen to and cannot learn the song. If I had all my music on one big database, I could just look it up and make my decision regarding song choices,

Movie Library This software is probably the most labor intensive since I have to type the name of the DVD or VHS. Then, I have to select from the items found. However, there are only about 1,000 to do, so this should not be a monumental problem. I have to put limits on my inputting time, though. Actually, this might be a good job for PG since she knows how to type. I have to go look harder at the software to see if there is anyway to input multiple movies.

Picture Library Originally, I did not think I would buy this software. I have so many organizers and didn't want another. However, the search function proved quite valuable. This software searched all the drives on one computer and located about 800 MB of duplicate photos. The duplicate photos were a hangover from the time of computer troubles when I backed up my files like crazy. I lost control of the backups and ended up with backups everywhere. The one drawback was that it took hours to delete the duplicates since I wanted to check each one out. I am going to run the software on my other computers. The process should go faster. Then, I have to check across the network and compare all the computers looking for duplicate pictures.